Lost Hope
by Elle-oh-Elle
Summary: A series of events that led after the journey to Alaska. Rated "M" for possible further chapters and there might be femslash.
1. Cold and Dense

Claire lifted Kmart into her arms and began to shuffle slowly through the snow. Her attackers were still on pursuit, but they were having more trouble in this snow than she was.

**Yesterday:**

_Beep Beep Beep. The helicopter's monitor chimed rapidly. Claire stared wide-eyed at the screen as a red icon flashed brightly. _

"_Claire? What's going on?" _

"_I-I don't-" A sudden jerk shook the helicopter and its passengers roughly. Claire turned around to see the frightened faces of her comrades. She turned back to the screen and began to toggle with the random controls below the monitor. 'Just a bit longer' Claire thought to herself…_

_The helicopter refused to comply with her wish and it began to quickly descend. _

"_DAMN IT. FUCK!" Claire cursed as she fumbled with the controls. They seemed to be falling for hours but it was only a matter of minutes. Claire gritted her teeth as she attempted to land the diving machine. The beeping was getting louder and louder. The descent towards the ground was intensifying and then-_

"Claire! Wake up!"

Claire opened her eyes and squinted to see through the bright light. Kmart knelt down and peered inside the small rock shelter. "Hey, Claiirrre, wake up." The teen smiled. Claire rubbed her eyes sleepily and crawled out of the cave. She jolted upwards as her hands pressed against cold wet ice; a thin layer of snow covered the forest floor and Claire couldn't help but laugh a little inside. She stood upwards and rolled her shoulders a bit. The morning sun shone brightly through the thick snow sprinkled trees and the air was crisp and refreshing. Kmart was seated next to a large metal pan set on some glowing coals. Claire raised her eyebrows curiously as she shuffled tiredly to the pan. "Smells good, K." Claire yawned and her breath clouded the air as she exhaled.

It had originally been Claire's decision to make the trek up to this "abandoned" town alone, but Kmart had once again persuaded Claire to reconsider. A large growl was emitted from Claire's stomach. Kmart looked up at the older woman. "It'll be done in a minute." Kmart said in reply to Claire's stomach. A rare smile appeared on Claire's face as she nodded sleepily. Claire looked curiously into the pan. "What is that?" she asked puzzled. "It's a fish…" Kmart retorted.

"What did you do to it?"

"It's filleted!"

Claire just laughed. "Alright, it smells good so it must taste good," Claire walked off to the stream. "I'm going to wash up a bit, scream if anything happens." Claire called out behind her. "Mmkay." Kmart replied engrossed in her cooking. The young teen watched her older friend head off to the stream which was in clear view from where she sat.

She pretended to fiddle with the meal on the pan, but stopped to watch Claire disrobe.

A thin blush tinted her cheeks and she suddenly felt embarrassed.

Quickly, she returned to cooking.

The meal treated both girls well and prepped them for the task at head.

"So, what do you think we'll find down there?" Kmart was lying down on her stomach peering through a pair of binoculars.

"A whole lot of nothing," Claire replied while taking a swig of her rum-filled canteen.

"Hey! Can I have a sip?" Kmart asked sweetly as she squinted up at Claire.

"Yeah, sure… in a couple of years," Claire took another gulp out of her canteen and grinned back at the blonde. The two girls then sat in silence as they watched the small town below them. It was blanketed with snow and surrounded by some pine trees. The buildings appeared to be much worn, but they still stood.

"I see one," Claire stated dryly. Kmart stayed quiet as she looked through the binoculars once more. Sure enough, a shambling figure was roaming around through out the empty town.

"Maybe we should rethink this one, Claire." Kmart took her eyes away from the binoculars to face her partner.

"I can take you back to the-"

"No." Kmart interrupted.

"Okay then. Let's get moving, K" Claire picked up her rucksack and began walking through the dense forest.

Kmart took one last look back at the snow covered village before heading after her ambitious leader.


	2. You were right

A harsh wind picked up and rushed through the trees.

"It's getting really cold… Hey, look at those clouds up there," Kmart whispered.

"It's going to snow again soon." Claire replied as she tied her hair back.

Kmart sighed; she readjusted the bag on her shoulder and continued to walk. Going down the hill was somewhat difficult for the teenager. She occasionally stumbled over some rocks and tripped over some shrubbery, but Claire, on the other hand, was making quite haste.

"Can you wait up?!" Kmart called out with frustration. "Shh!" Claire glared at the girl behind her. "Keep it down, kid." Claire lent out her hand to her young companion and helped her over a couple of fallen logs. The pair made it through the forest hill as they wandered into the snow filled valley.

"Look. There's the road." Claire whispered as she pointed straight ahead. Claire picked up her pace and began moving deeper into the valley. Kmart stared straight ahead; her breath clearly visible in the afternoon air. "Claire…" she murmured. The young girl smiled wearily and tried to catch up. The road was slick and slippery; ice had coated it and froze the asphalt together. They traveled cautiously in silence as they moved throughout the deserted town. There, they discovered many buildings such as; a Laundromat, a gas-station, a sheriff station, and even a small convenience store, but none of these seemed of importance to the young teenager except for one. A beaming smile formed on Kmart's face as she stared across the street at "Monique's Fashion Boutique". Claire could only rub her forehead and laugh silently to herself. "Can we at least go check it out?" Kmart pleaded. "No, we're here for more important things," Claire retorted as she turned back around. Kmart frowned. "Besides, the place in there could be dangerous. We'll come back another day, alright? …K?" Claire turned around to see that the young teenager was already in front of the clothes-store building. "Goddamn it, Kmart." Claire cursed as she stomped after her. Kmart set her small shoulder bag down and began to pull on the large door handle.

After some struggle, the door swung open and a strong breeze of thick humid air greeted her. The young teen stood there for a moment. Something did not feel quite right, she definitely felt something strange. She took a few steps inside, there were racks of dresses and tops, but the poor lighting made it difficult to see anything that she liked. Suddenly, the door creaked shut behind her causing the room to grow very dark. Kmart panicked as she heard slow foot steps shuffling towards her. She peeked over her shoulder cautiously. A dark figure stalked slowly towards her. Her pulse thumped loudly in her ears, she tried to move, but her muscles were frozen in place. A pair of arms seized her shoulders and a hungry mouth pressed viciously against her neck. Kmart shrieked, but was silenced by a gloved hand.

"Boo." The _ghoul _ruffled the teen's blonde hair and chuckled.

"Claire!" the teen pouted as she roughly shoved the girl away from herself.

"What? That's what you get for running off like that," Claire teased. "Now come on let's get a move on."

The pair exited the fashion store. A sharp cold gust of wind caused Kmart to huddle closer to Claire.

"I don't like this," Kmart murmured.

"Like what?" Claire peered down at the teen burying her face into her arm.

"The wind… the weather… it's getting colder than usual, Claire."

"This isn't abnormal, we're just going through a weather shift," Claire continued, "Alright… we'll leave as soon as we check out that convenience store over there."

"I don't think we should."

"Hey, we need to get some toilet paper and snacks for the others back at the camp." Claire scolded.

Kmart looked down and removed herself from Claire's arm.

The wind picked up once more, this time it blew sharp pieces of ice and snow into the girls' faces. Kmart grimaced as she moved back to Claire; Claire wrapped an arm around the small girl and flinched at the ice flying towards her.

In normal weather, the walk to the convenience store must've been at least five minutes or so, but with the harsh gusts… it took double the time and effort. Luckily, not a single ghoul was in sight, or so they thought. The two young women made their way up to the entrance of the store. Its windows had been frosted over and the sign was barely legible.

Claire noticed a dried up pool of blood next to a wrecked car in front of the entrance. A decaying body lay mutilated on the hood of the car. Claire quickly pushed Kmart's face into the side of her chest.

Kmart had seen enough horror to mentally scar her in this new world, but Claire never ceased to try and protect what was left of the teen's innocence.

Claire held Kmart against her chest until they entered the store.

_Ding Ding._

The store entrance bell chimed merrily causing Claire to jump slightly. An eerie silence settled in. Claire pulled out her wild magnum. She ushered Kmart to stay by the entrance.

A pale hazy glow floated within the store and everything appeared to be safe, but looks were often deceiving. Gun pointed forward and shoulders back, Claire stalked cautiously throughout each aisle. Her heartbeat was steady, but her breathing was not. She inhaled sharply and a pungent smell caused her to gag.

'What was that?' she thought momentarily to herself. Claire grimaced and furrowed her brows looking from the floor to the ceiling. She sniffed once more and began to walk in the direction of the stench.

Kmart looked puzzled as Claire wrinkled her nose and made her way back to the front of the store.

The older woman began to sniff again and again. Suddenly, the smell was much stronger.

It was coming from behind the cash register.

Claire swallowed hard and braced herself for what she might find. Her heart began to pound a bit faster. She imagined herself meeting eyes with the face of a dead human or worse an undead human. The smell was becoming stronger her breathing quickened. She gripped her gun tight and flattened her lips into a tight line as she peered behind the counter. She didn't know quite what she was looking at. Then her eyes slowly began to register; a young woman's torso laid half devoured in a pool of dark brown liquid. Claire quickly put her hand to her mouth to keep from gagging.

"K, go to the back." Claire didn't make eye contact or look up from what she was focused on.

"What is-"

"Just go to the back." Claire swallowed hard and pointed sternly away from where she was standing. Kmart blinked once and began to walk towards the other aisle away from where Claire was standing.

"Can you smell anything from where you are at?" Claire looked up to the girl across the store.

"Not really, my nose is all plugged up." Kmart replied innocently.

"Good." Claire looked back down at the horrific sight. "Don't come back here."

Claire sorted through the aisles until she found a box of black garbage bags, she then proceeded to drop several over the body, avoided it as much as she could.

Suddenly a large roaring sound began to shake and disturb the small building.

A snowstorm.

A vicious wind caused the door to swing open and close violently.

_DING DING DING DING_

The bell swung along with the door causing even more of a racket. It was just calling for ghouls to come and find them.

"Shit!" Claire cursed. She dropped the garbage bag and ran to the door. She threw herself against it causing it to slam close. Claire grabbed a nearby wooden broom stick and jammed it between the counter and the door. It stayed shut. The small golden bell still shook from side to side taunting Claire. She ripped it from its yarn string and tossed it over the counter. It didn't chime when it landed on the floor.

The roaring wind bellowed and shook the building mercilessly. Claire was panicked, but tried to appear calm to her comrade. Kmart now was sitting on the floor in a corner aisle.

"We're going to need to stay here for the night."


	3. Toilet Paper and Munchies

**Author's note~**

**Hey, hey, hey!! Thanks for the reviews! This is kind of a short chapter and I'll update more soon. The bond between Claire and Kmart is somewhat platonic for now… I'll unveil more when they get back to the convoy in the next chapter!**

Claire paced back and forth through the aisles trying to gather what the two needed so that they could make a dash back to camp as soon as the storm broke up, but that might be awhile longer than Claire had anticipated. The window began filtering less light and a dark ominous sheet of clouds blockaded the sun. Kmart felt tension fill inside the room. During moments like this, Claire often became very irritable and even the slightest word from the teen caused Claire to snap. So, Kmart unrolled the thick wool blanket from her rucksack and nested quietly where she was told to stay.

Claire, on the other hand, was still pacing throughout the aisle looking for toilet paper.

"Ah, there it is." Claire snatched the paper rolls off the bottom shelf. "You were hiding."

"Yep, she's talking to rolls of toilet paper…" Kmart murmured quietly to herself.

Claire threw about four rolls into her bag. She brushed off her hands and straightened out the kinks in her back.

"How are you holding up?" Claire called from another aisle, sounding half distracted.

Claire looked over the aisles to check on the girl after no response. Kmart gave a half smile and rolled her eyes. Claire sighed with frustration.

"You could've stayed back at th-"

"Yeah, I know," Kmart interrupted, "I could've stayed back at the convoy."

"What made you want to go so badly anyway?" Claire inquired. The question was somewhat answered in Claire's mind, but not fully.

"You were being stupid." Kmart replied.

"What?" Claire raised her eyebrows surprised.

"You're not Alice," Kmart ran her numb fingers through her tangled blonde hair. "You can't do things risky like this on your own, Claire."

Claire walked out of the aisle and her usual stern look replaced with a restrained smile.

Out of nowhere the woman threw a bag of chips at the teen.

"Tell me if those are any good or not." Claire called out while retreating back into another aisle.

"I don't even like Doritos," Kmart complained.

"Oh, I guess you're not as hungry as I thought," Claire then tossed another item at the girl. "Try these then."

Kmart clumsily caught the food being pitched at her. It was small pack of chocolate coated doughnuts.

'Oh god, I wonder how long these have been here?' Kmart grimaced at her coming meal.

She scanned the side label for an expiration date… The teen sighed for she forgot what month it was, let alone day for that matter. She opened the mini doughnut package and plucked out a tiny plump chocolate doughnut. It looked relatively normal; no mold or anything.

"Here goes nothing…" Kmart cautiously took a bite out of the chocolate treat… Her eyes perked up in surprise. It was delicious! Well, as delicious as preserved chocolate doughnuts get for that matter. Kmart pulled out another doughnut, this time taking it in whole.

"That good, huh?" Claire chuckled.

Kmart was startled and tried to swallow the mouth full of doughnut she had taken in.

Claire shook her head and took a seat close to the girl; content with the warmth, she wrapped a protective arm across the teen's shoulders and sighed.

"Hey, Claire?"

"Don't say anything smug, I'm not as happy as you think right now."

Kmart just smiled looking down and away from her close friend.

"Don't say anything smug?" Kmart echoed.

"Just hand me my sleeping bag." Claire grumbled.


	4. Author's note

Author's Note~

Hey, guys! Thanks for reviews. :)

Sorry it took so long, but I'll have a new chapter out by the next two days.

Promise! I'm working on it as we speak! :D Btw, I deleted the first chapter because I thought it would be too confusing to continue right up from there.

So it's going to be re-written and it'll continue where we left off right after the two went to sleep in the convenience store.

Ciao!

3


	5. Time to go

**A new chapter! (Finally) Sorry, I know I said that the next chapter was going to involve the whole convoy and stuff, but that'll be the one after this one.**

**So yeah~ I hope you enjoy it! And thanks for the reviews! :)  
**

______________________________________________________

Claire's eyes shot open, warm moist air was being exhaled against her face. Instinctively, her hands dove for the magnum resting against her thigh. Gripping the cold weapon tightly, she swerved to face what had awoken her. She bumped noses with it.

"Damn it, Kmart," Claire muttered angrily. Kmart had pushed herself almost on top of Claire and her face was pressed rather close, make that too close, to her partner's. Claire groggily rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She peered down at the girl next to her, Kmart's mouth hung open slightly, a bit of drool had pooled on Claire's sleeping bag. Claire wasn't disgusted, but she wished the girl would learn to close her mouth when she slept. It usually caused her to snore and, unfortunately, drool. Claire reached over and pressed a hand against Kmart's chin pressing it upwards in an attempt to close her mouth.

Kmart's eyes opened slowly, they squinted in the new light filtering through the window.

She felt a cold hand pressed against her chin and piercing blue eyes squinting back at her.

"What are you doing?" Kmart inquired, slightly annoyed at being woken up so strangely.

"You were snoring… and leaking," Claire tapped a finger on the spot of drool on her sleeping bag.

Kmart quickly put a hand to her mouth and wiped it furiously. Claire bit her tongue to prevent a smile. The older woman unzipped her sleeping bag and reluctantly slid her body out of its warmth. "The storm has cleared up a bit, but the wind is still a bit harsh." Claire crept quietly towards the window to get a better look at the outside climate. It wasn't much help; the window was cracked and frosted over with ice and dry blood. She could only make out dark shapes of houses and buildings. Claire turned around, her back to the glass.

"How you holding up?" Claire asked while scratching her chin.

Kmart was folding her blanket as she looked over towards her friend.

"I'm not feeling too hot, actually… I think it's…" Kmart's eyes widened and she shrieked in terror, "CLAIRE, LOOK OUT!"

_SMASH! Creeeek… WHAM! Crreeeeek…_

Claire spun around just in time to see an undead throwing his head violently against the cracking glass. Blood oozed from various parts of his temple and his face was distorted from the mutilation he was causing himself. Claire panicked; her magnum wasn't in its holster. She backed away from the glass and fell. It continued beating its head mercilessly against the warping glass. Suddenly, Kmart ran towards the window, holding Claire's beloved magnum, she fired two continuous rounds into the ghoul. The glass shattered, and the ghoul slumped forward into the store, blood pooling from its skull.

"Oh shit… Oh shit…" Kmart cursed in shock. Claire just stared amazed at her companion. Kmart fell to her knees. "That has… a bit of a kick to it," she whimpered shakily. The gun hit the floor with a clank. Kmart's hands shook uncontrollably as the adrenaline left her body. Claire crawled over to the teen, avoiding the fresh pool of blood on the floor, and wrapped her into a tight embrace. Claire's chin pressed against Kmart's forehead. She was burning up.

"You're hot," Claire whispered.

"Thanks," Kmart replied as she smiled weakly into Claire's parka.

Claire frowned. This wasn't the time for smug comments, but Kmart continued to shake in Claire's arms so she ignored it.

"How are you feeling?" Claire grabbed Kmart's chin and looked into her half-open eyes.

"Like I ran five miles…"

"Can you walk?"

"I hope," Kmart looked away from Claire, "I haven't been feeling well for the past few days… I just didn't want you to worry."

"Goddamn it, Dahlia!" Claire scolded. "We have to get moving or else we're lunch, I don't know when anyone is going to come looking for us, but either way we have to-," Claire was interrupted by Kmart's fingers against her mouth. The older woman only used Kmart's real name when she was very upset and now wasn't the time to be flustered. They needed to stay calm and collected. Kmart whispered a soft apology as she continued to hide her face against Claire's warm chest. The two sat there with the wind whistling freely through the window. Claire's head filled with scenarios of whether or not they should just stay put and hold out here for longer or face the winds and make it back the way they came. Kmart, on the other hand, was thinking about how Claire smelt like the campfire and how soft her chin felt against her forehead. The wind carried pieces of snow into the store. A low raspy groan quickly reminded Claire of what she must do. Claire quickly pulled up herself and Kmart, she grabbed the teen's arms and looked down into her amber colored eyes.

"We need to move and I'm going to get us both out of here in one piece," Claire whispered. Kmart nodded in agreement and held tightly on to her leader's free arm. The pair went back towards the store where they gathered their sleeping items and their rucksacks. Claire returned to the front of the store where Kmart had dropped her magnum. She picked it up and stroked the side of it lovingly before tucking it into her holster. Kmart stood patiently in one of the aisles. "Pick up anything you might need, but make sure it's nothing too cumbersome." Claire ordered. Kmart's head had begun to throb and she was feeling drained. Her eyes strained to scan the rows of items, she didn't really know what to grab. A tube of chapstick caught the young woman's eye; she dropped the item into her rucksack. Not seeing much of anything, Kmart moved into the front of the store. The teen decided that her sweet tooth might return once her health recovered so she plucked a couple of candy bars from the front counter. Then she peered above the register. There stood a glass cabinet. Kmart peeked over her shoulder; Claire was pacing throughout aisles muttering to herself. The blonde shrugged it off and went back to her business. The cabinet was filled with bottles of non-prescription medicines and cigarette boxes. On closer inspection, Kmart had discovered something she had completely forgotten about; Midol. No, she wasn't on her period at the moment, but when it happened… She usually wished for comfort other than just a warm towel pressed against her stomach. The teen hoisted herself so that she was standing on top of the counter and stretched her body and arms to reach the handle. It was locked.

'Ah, I should've known better.' Kmart bit her nails. 'There's gotta be a key around here somewhere…' Kmart decided to check behind the register. She looked down; there was a pile of black trash bags and a bell lying neatly on the floor. Kmart remembered Claire frantically laying these behind the register yesterday. She shrugged it off and was about to leap down when a pair of strong arms yanked her backwards. The blonde lost her balance and landed roughly on Claire. Kmart, awkwardly, removed herself from her partner. A puzzled look greeted a harsh stern one.

"Do you remember what I told you?" Claire inquired while biting her lower lip.

Kmart rolled her eyes and sighed. "I just shot a guy in the skull; I think I can handle whatever it is back there," she continued, "Besides, I was getting supplies." The blonde pointed towards the glass cabinet and crossed her arms.

"Alright, alright," Claire sighed in defeat. The older woman got up and cracked her knuckles as she peered leaned forward to peer inside the cabinet.

"Are those-,"

"Yeah, I know they're-,"

"CIGARETTES!" Claire exclaimed happily. Kmart swatted her own forehead and sighed. Almost in an instant, Claire swung herself on top of the counter and smashed her fist inside the cabinet shoveling five packs into her arms. "Oh god, yes, my babies." She cooed at the tobacco filled containers. Claire placed each one gingerly into her rucksack; Kmart crossed her arms and glared at the older woman.

"Yeah, while you're up there, could you grab me a pack of Midol?" Kmart asked a tint of frustration in her voice.

"Uh, sure, K…" Claire tried to regain her composure and randomly grabbed what she thought to be Midol and tossed it at her comrade. Swiftly, she grabbed her rucksack and swung her legs off the counter and leaped down. Kmart stared at the item in her hands; it read "HEAD ON".

"This isn't Midol, it's Head On…" Kmart said rather distastefully.

"Apply directly to the forehead…"Claire muttered as she tried to light up a fresh cigarette.

"Yeah, whatever, I'll apply it to my uterus when I get my rag, I guess," Kmart retorted.

"Which will be soon, judging by the way you've been acting…" Claire replied while taking a long drag of her freshly lit cigarette. Kmart shoved the item roughly into her rucksack and headed for the back door; Claire following closely behind. Kmart pulled the handle of the door; the gusts threw it fully open to Kmart's shock. Claire squeezed Kmart's shoulder gently and placed her lips against the back of her temple. She placed another light kiss on the teen's ear and quickly pulled back. "Let's go." She ordered.


	6. What a Workout

Oh my God.

A new chapter, hope you enjoy it.

I'll be getting back on this, not quite sure where it's going though.

Thanks for the reviews~

* * *

Kmart felt weak. Her knees buckled slightly with each small step and each intake of the cold air made her feel as if her lungs were becoming frozen. Claire held tightly on to the young girl, pushing her forward. Dark shadows of shambling human figures began to form in the distance. Massive gusts of wind silenced any noise around them. The young blonde stumbled forward, her eyes fluttered closed, and she collapsed into the ice. Claire mentally debated whether to head back inside the shop, but a quick look behind her told her otherwise. About twenty undead stalked around the store, limping around clumsily with their appendages outstretched. The older woman's hands began to numb. She knelt down on her knees and lifted her unconscious comrade hastily from the snow. Claire removed the girl's rucksack and swung her over her shoulder. She began to retrace her steps back out of the valley. Each step seemed like a full mile as the unrelenting wind smacked and tossed debris at the heroine. Ice stung her eyes and frosted her eyelashes making everything within long distance a white blur. This trek back was really going to test her endurance.

She gritted her teeth as the arm holding her comrade began to burn and grow weak. Survival was the engine running in her heart and it had saved her in many different situations and now was just another test of heart. All sounds grew quiet except for the loud beating of her heart within her eardrums. Each beat was deafening to her mind. Thoughts of whether to move forward or find shelter once more became unclear. The weight of her companion grew heavy; the beats of her heart grew quick, each step more frantic than the last. Claire was succumbing to fear; something that only happened when Kmart was around. The auburn headed woman inhaled and exhaled frantically as she hiked through the deep snow.

'Keep moving, keep moving,' she repeated the words silently like a prayer.

The couple's pursuers were no longer in sight. The white gusts had left them only to appear as dark shadows, but their eerie moans could still be heard faintly on the wind. Claire, who was constantly looking over her shoulder, took one last glance behind her. They were too far back now to be of any threat. The road's icy pavement caused them too much of trouble to cross. Claire dropped her bags and pulled Kmart tightly to her chest. The older women slumped to her knees as she brought the girl's face to hers.

"K, you have to wake up…" Claire pleaded breathlessly against the teen's cheek.

Frosted buildings loomed ominously around them, their undead occupants suddenly becoming aware of the scene unfolding outside. Claire violently shook the teen. The younger woman's mouth was parted slightly; Claire placed her cheek to the soft lips.

A faint warm breath was exhaled, but nothing more. Groans filled the air once more as the town's "citizens" began to shuffle out from their shelters and stalk the two girls on the street. Claire's eyes darted from her comrade onto the decaying bodies shambling towards her.

"Fuck." Claire cursed as she pulled her magnum from its holster. Kmart still clutched within her arm, she fired a round into a man limping across the street towards her. Claire whipped her head around and shot two bullets into a gurgling woman who was sprinting towards her.

"Runners…" the older woman gasped.

Claire inhaled the sharp hair quickly and pulled Kmart over her shoulder. Her gun still clenched cautiously in her hand she steadied herself in position to move on. Claire didn't think much of what was to become of her and her companion, but only of what needed to be done. She began taking steps. The doors of the buildings around her began to open; undead slinked lazily out onto the frosted terrain. Claire merely swallowed and pressed on. Gurgles, moans, and grunts could be heard clearly as the wind grew calmer.

Claire was nearly out of the town. She just needed to crawl up the valley and she was certain she could out run her pursuers. Soon, the buildings became scarce and she was at the edge of escape; her undead followers right on her trail. Claire's arm grew heavy with the burden on her shoulder, her other hand still gripped the cold firearm.

The trail leading out of the town's valley captivated Claire. Her pace quickened as adrenaline powered each step. The heroine's controlled breathing was now becoming quick frantic gasps as she began to hike up the hill. Snow grew less dense and patches of dirt and rock littered the ground. The undead stalked ominously below the hill, climbing clumsily, and sliding back down. Claire stumbled over logs and bushes as the incline of the hill began to level out into flat land. She fumbled forward and dropped Kmart onto the dirt ground.

Claire inhaled and exhaled frantically trying to catch her breath. She rolled onto her back and looked wearily at the grey sky. The calls of her pursuers had disappeared and she had presumed they were still at the bottom of the hill. She laughed exhaustedly. Her vision began to cloud and grow dark a faint hum of an engine could be heard off in the distance… she just wanted to rest.

"How is she?"

"Fine, stable, just tired."

"Should we wake her?"

"No, let her rest."

"She'll wake to a surprise when she sees you, Alice."


	7. Back Already?

"We were in a gas station or something and- We… I…" the small voice stumbled over her words.

"You guys got in trouble?" another voice replied flatly.

"No, I passed out. I can't remember everything that happened… Look, is she going to be all right?"

"She'll make it. Stop fussing, let's go get you something to eat and let this soldier rest, okay?"

"…Okay."

Claire struggled to open her eyes. Her vision was hazy, but her other senses ran wild. She could smell smoke, the roasting of some animal perhaps. Outside of this tent, she could hear the chopping of wood and the soft murmurs of voices in the distance. As she attempted to shift her body, she discovered that she was wrapped tightly in different animal furs and wool. The warmth was almost uncomfortable due to the previous cold exposure she had become so accustomed to. Then suddenly her mind began to race…

'Where was Kmart?'

Quickly, she pulled herself out of the fur bondage and cautiously poked her head out of the tent.

The sun was setting beyond the horizon, it appeared to be dusk.

A sigh of slight relief escaped her lips as she recognized her companions. Several children clumsily ran through the snow, chasing one another with sticks. A fire illuminated the center of the camp, a few men and women sat lazily around it; chatting about recent events.

'Same convoy; different location'

However, she was not calmed. Her comrade was yet to be found.

"HEY!" Claire shouted. Her voice came out harsh and ragged, like she had swallowed cotton.

The people around the camp appeared startled at their leader's sudden awakening. One woman quickly ran to the tent to see the status of Claire's recovery. Her name was Namena. She had dark patchy skin with deep chocolate eyes. Long matted black dreads framed her round pudgy face, which always shone kindness. She was found shortly after they had arrived in Alaska and had assumed the position of "local doctor".

"What ails you, honey?" She asked while placing a hand onto Claire's shoulder.

Claire cleared her throat.

"Where's Kmart, Nam?" Claire tried to keep her voice from wavering.

Namena let out a little chuckle.

"Oh, dear, she's fine." Namena motioned her hand over to a clearing of trees where two figures sat looking off into the distance. Claire squinted, trying to confirm Namena's words.

"Who's she with?" Claire questioned.

"Oh, strangest thing…" Namena trailed off.

'I swear to god if it's that boy, Dre…' Claire pondered the idea of Kmart becoming a little curious at the boy's previous offers. Then she imagined the two of them getting a little cozy in the tent Claire shared with Kmart. She shuddered.

"We got a newcomer, but apparently you've already met her… so has Kmart." Namena spoke with a usual smile. "They're just catching up."

Claire raised her eyebrow at the old woman.

"Where are my clothes?"

Claire finished wrapping the black belt around her olive green cargos and ducked out of the tent. As she made her way to the clearing of trees, the two figures turned their attention away from one another and towards her. Immediately, Claire realized who Kmart was with.

"Long time no see, Alice." Claire beamed.

A wry smile appeared on Alice's pale complexion. She looked worn, tired. Alice gave a simple nod in return to Claire's greeting. Claire continued to walk forward, taking the woman into her arms, and squeezing her tightly.

"You better have a helluva story to tell me," said Claire, reluctantly releasing the older woman.

Alice merely replied with another small smile and began following the two towards the seating around the center of the convoy. Kmart paused and stared at the sun that glistened across the ground before her.


End file.
